Pricing your Work is Intimidating? Follow the Steps Below!
Published in
5 min readJan 21, 2023
Pricing your work and negotiating money can be intimidating, especially for those who are new to freelancing. Whether you’re setting your rates for the first time or trying to increase your prices, the thought of discussing money with a client can be daunting.
But with the right approach and a few key strategies, you can confidently navigate the negotiation process. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps of negotiating money so you can feel empowered and prepared when it comes time to discuss finances with your clients.
1. The initial Reply:
When you receive a client request, it’s essential to respond in a timely and professional manner:
- Thank them for their reaching out/reply.
- Ask for the project timeline.
- Their idea and direction: It will be better if the client has a clear direction and aligns with your work. If they’re not, there might be more work; it’s better to figure out with them early.
- The contact person (corporate clients): The more transparent the contact person is, the less chaos you will encounter.
- Ask about their budget.
- If needed, propose a short call or meeting for further discussion.
2. Pricing techniques:
- Flat fee: This is what I used. Setting up and ensuring no surprises when it comes time to pay the bill is straightforward. Though it is a flat fee, when I offer the price to the client, I will also consider the hours and expertise taken for the project to get a fair price.
- Hourly pricing: It works well for services such as virtual assistance or new or complex projects that are hard to determine the flat fee directly.
- Bundle price: Set different bundles of services and tiers of fees.
- Royalty: You get the reward depending on the profit/sales of the project you are involved.
- Add a retainer: Services paid regularly, such as monthly or quarterly. Retainers are used where the client needs the professional’s services on an ongoing or as-needed basis.
- Be creative: Give discounts for bulk orders; ask for exposure; offer a loyalty or referral program; flexible pricing structure, etc.
3. Factors that impact pricing:
- The Scope of Work: How much time and expertise are required to complete the task?
- Where is the work to be used? : Different usage rights and locations can have different exposure and revenue potential. e.g., you would charge more for the national campaign than the local campaign; more for the print campaign than the online campaign. The client’s reputation and size can affect the pricing as well.
- Whether they own the rights?: For creative projects, you can charge 2–3 times more to give the client the full right so that they can use the work in all channels.
- Client Size: If someone is small, typically, there is less to jump through than a big company. The difference can be huge, e.g., 2–3 times. You can put discounts on those smaller clients.
- Are they agencies?: Sometimes, there could be more back and forth with agency clients since we hear from a chain of teams(i.e., the agency and their client). And the project bears more risk of being killed due to the same reason.
- Ask for a deposit: A proper deposit can be around 30% — 50% of the total price. This protects the professional from financial loss if the project is not completed or the client fails to pay the final invoice. Also, it shows that the client is committed and sets professional expectations for both sides.
4. “Money isn’t everything” :
Other than the money perspective, here are the additional tips that help you work better with your clients:
- Rounds of revisions: My projects provide around 3–4 revisions, which is the average amount. Using “unlimited revision” could be tricky since it can lead to excessive changes or additions and the project scope to expand beyond expectation.
- Ask for fair compensation: Even if you really like the client, asking for a fair price is good for both sides. If not, this is likely to be in the back of your head and make it harder for you to do the best job.
- Proper updates and communication: Send samples, ideas, and drafts to clients during your working process so that we can avoid unnecessary back and forth.
- Be transparent: Be upfront with clients about your pricing and the services included. This will help build trust and ensure no surprises when it comes time to pay the bill.
- The format of deliverables: For example, audio/video/picture format, source files, access to website and applications, etc.
- Mind your mental health: Set boundaries for work and life, take breaks, plan your time and celebrate your achievements. Furthermore, it is ok to stop collaborating with demanding clients. It is not worth sacrificing the success of your business or your well-being.
